Changes

I find that even though I love writing, I really have to be in just the right mood and have just the right setting to get a satisfactory finished product. I have tried writing in short, sporadic increments of time while Elsie is awake and playing, I have tried writing on cold, dreary days, and I have tried writing when I am exhausted, and I have come to the conclusion that each one of these situations severely stifles my creativity and all around ability to write a decent post. Today, at just this very moment, I am fully recharged as my husband let me sleep in this morning, the sun in shining brightly, my husband is at work, and my daughter is napping. All in all, the perfect setting (although possibly short lived) for me to allow my creativity flow!

This weekend we were able to meet Ben and Amber's new baby boy. If meeting a brand new baby, fresh out of the womb doesn't make you realize how fast babies grow, then I don't know what does! I found myself trying to remember details from those first few weeks after Elsies birth, and I came to the conclusion that my memory is limited. I remember that she was calm and easily comforted, I remember that I was tired and crying at least once every couple of hours, I remember feeling so much love for her that it hurt (one of the reasons I was crying every couple of hours), and I remember feeling overwhelmed once it set in that I was now in charge of raising this small human being. I would consider myself to be resistant to change, but the second Elsie squeezed her little cone shaped head through that birth canal, I had no choice but to accept that in that moment, my life was going to change drastically! In an awesome way I might add!

I don't know how it goes for other Mom's, but those first two weeks after having Elsie weren't quite as happy and jolly as everyone may think. I, was a walking disaster full of uncontrollable emotions. I felt like I had no control over my actions, as I was feeling some sort of new overwhelming emotion every hour! I spent what felt like at least half of the first two weeks sobbing. I'm talking about snot running down my face, puffy, beat red eyes, all out bawling sessions. I was crying about everything from worrying about being lonely, to wanting to be alone, to worrying about Elsie choking on mucus, to being in awe of how perfect she was, to straight up extreme exhaustion. I was a bundle of completely irrational and plain old silly thoughts and emotions!! It was a breath of fresh air the day that I realized that my hormones had sorted themselves out and I was finally a little bit more in control of the way I was feeling!
Okay as usual, I've gotten off topic again. Back to babies growing up fast.
In the last few months, Elsie really has transformed from an infant to a young lady! I have tried to decide on a way to cleverly list off her newest skills, but I think that the best way is to just literally write them in list form. So, here goes.

-She is sitting like a rockstar!
-On Valentines Day, she started saying Dadda and Mamma. The BEST Valentines Day present I've ever received!
-She has officially popped out three teeth!
-She is finally loving prunes, sweet potatoes and even PEAS! Lately she has started to lick her lips when she watches other people eat.
-She is in the beginning stages of crawling! Today I set her in one side of her room and she ended up pushing herself all the way over to the other side!
-She smiles, and smiles, and smiles some more!
-She is so patient! When I clip her fingernails, she holds her fingers completely still and talks to me.
-She loves books and pays attention very closely when we talk about colors!
-She's very inquisitive and curious. She is excited about any and all new situations! I love to watch her take everything in!
-She loves to play with kids! She loves them all! As long as they aren't adult sized, she can't keep her eyes off of them.

These are just a few of the things that I can think of at this moment. All of this has come out of 7 months! It is amazing how rewarding being a parent is. It is so exciting to wake up each day and realize that I will probably learn something new about Elsie! Each day, I fall in love her and thank God for bringing her into our lives!